Egyptian journalist and political activist Abdel-Halim Qandil said that in the past three years, the Egyptian army "trampled" the demilitarized zones in the Sinai. According to Qandil, Egypt used the terror of ISIS in the Sinai as "a title – and I don’t want to use another word for it" – to send military forces into the Sinai demilitarized zones, with Israel’s approval. According to Qandil, this was "the best tactic of national deception we’ve seen in the past few years." The interview aired on the Egyptian Dream TV on December 22.

Abdel-Halim Qandil: "In the past three years, the Egyptian army trampled the demilitarized zones. How? It is part of the agreement between the two sides – Israel and us. This agreement is sealed. It states that if you want to amend something, the other side must agree. This was the best tactic of national deception we've seen in the past few years. Egypt used the terror as a title – and I don't want to use another word for it – in order to tell Israel that it is essential to have Egyptian forces in the demilitarized zones. Then, gradually, without them noticing, we returned all the way to the border, with the full force of the Egyptian military – ships, airplanes, forces, and all its weapons. We created a new fait accompli. This is a very important moment in the course of the Arab-Israeli conflict, because it has always been Israel deceiving the Arabs, creating a new reality, and then it would say: I've fooled you."